Aaron Collins's Suspects Chapter 5
by Psychoflop
Summary: The Interrogations begin...


Ida had returned upstairs after Aaron L. lead John into the interrogation room setup by the hotel staff. She would go back downstairs soon enough to do her shift of questioning (Holly was going 2nd, Ida was going last), but now she was frantically turning her suitcase inside out in between looking in the bathroom sink, and under the couch.

"Where the fuck is my wedding ring?"

In her nearing closer and closer to a nervous breakdown (which would only undermine the investigation further), she remembered a moment in her recent past. An hour or two before the dinner downstairs, having a talk with her now-dead husband:

_"Sweetie, I will not mind if we put the rings in the room safe after dinner. Let my mom and anyone who wants to see them, see them. Then we hide them in the safe" Said Aaron in the corners of Ida's mind._

_"Hun, are you sure that is tradition?"_

_"Ida, nothing I do is tradition"_

_"Ok Hun, in the safe they will go."_

Ida snapped back to reality, and a harsh future. She was going to have to re-visit the crime scene as the safe was in the room where her husband got killed. "Why God? Why?" With a conflict in her between fear and focus, she slowly entered the still fresh murder scene (but a not-so fresh dead Aaron Collins). Tiptoeing in order not to disturb any clues to be found later she put her shirt sleeve over her hand (to avoid adding her own fingerprints to the crime scene) and bent down to get a closer view of the safe.

What she saw were a drill mark clean through the front panel roughly 3 inches above the lock and what appeared to be paint and surface damage brought on by what Ida asked herself as…"a crowbar?" she wondered. "Jesus, between the gun, the knife, the sledgehammer and NOW the crowbar…am I looking for a 4-armed suspect?" "Well, at least they will not be too hard to find…

_'OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWW WWWWWWWW'_

…and that sounds like my mother-in-law's room."

Ida dashed out of the crime scene, out of her hotel room, SPRINTED down the hallway to the room assigned for Lindsay. She found the elder Collins cradling her knee, crying hysterically (think Nancy Kerrigan).

"Oh my god Lindsay, are you ok?"

"The Killer was here, they did this to me!"

"I know your aneurysm 15 years ago messed up your memory, but try to remember what happened while I get some ice, ok?"

Ida went to the kitchen and emptied an ice cube tray into a towel while Lindsay stumbled in not only remembering but getting to the sofa nearby. After a few minutes, she appeared to have accomplished both:

"Well, I was on the phone trying to get a hold of Aaron L. as I wanted him to question me because I have known him the longest, he agreed but conceded that I would be going towards the end as due to my medical history and age, I am actually among the LEAST likely to have murdered my son. Then I feel what I think was cold metal striking my knee…like a blunt, heavy object."

"Let me guess, a sledgehammer?"

"EXACTLY!"

"Then what happened?"

"A tall, but slight built person ran out the door as I was screaming. I think they went in the opposite direction from your room because otherwise…"

"I would have seen something…anything else? Anything at all?"

"Yes, this person knows ME as intimately as they knew my son it seems."

"Elaborate."

"They hit the knee I tore a ligament in, the left one. As they ran out I heard them whisper, 'damnit, no time to hit where she has her aneurysm shunt.'"

"Are you suggesting that the killer was trying to kill you just now?"

"That is exactly what I am telling you Ida, I think I am ok. I will try to walk."

…meanwhile, back in the interrogation room…Aaron was REALLY drilling into John

"So John, after we dance around the bush, we are still left with the obvious: We have a bottle of cologne you gave him in his hand the moment he was murdered. Was he defending himself with it because of the irony of YOU BEING THE KILLER?"

"Aaron is the first true friend I ever had in the XWF; I have no reason to hurt him at all."

"Yeah right, we know all about your jealousy that he won a title without really trying or even wanting it where you struggled to stay in the midcard."

"That was due to a primitive (even by 2011 standards) cell phone being my only internet access. Look, I admit I tried to get him get back into efed wrestling in some form as he was a very talented writer. But unless I can pass through solid matter like that modified cloaking device on the U.S.S. Pegasus, It is impossible for me to be the killer."

Aaron Langemann raised an eyebrow, not intentionally referencing The Rock.

"Aaron's room was on the 18th floor, right?"

"That is correct, what is your point?"

"I was on the 16th floor in the hallway from almost the moment I went upstairs with my key until AT LEAST an hour after Aaron was killed."

"And I bet you were all alone…"

"No I was with others. See, I had just put my suitcase in my room where I heard an older woman and a younger woman talking about the southern United States. I opened my door and headed to talk with them. As I am sure you know, I live in Louisiana so I had to chip in my 2 cents."

"And just who was this 'older woman and younger woman'?"

"Well, the older woman was the one who spent a lot of time with Aaron's mom at the dinner."

"Laurie from Vancouver?"

"Not her, the one from Tennessee."

"Elizabeth?"

"Yes, That would be her."

"And what about the younger one?"

"She was one of the Mississauga girls. The one who does NOT have 4 kids."

"So…Jen Lemons?"

"Yes. I remember because we actually moved the conversation around the hallway because Elizabeth and Jen had to keep going to the little girls room."

"Interesting. Robomom and timeshare girl getting along? I am going to check this out John. You BETTER not be lying."

"The whole hotel is on lockdown, not like I can escape even if I was."

"Yeah I guess. Ok, now get out of my sight and bring me Allan."

"Why do you want to question him? He is technically linked to Aaron by mutual sub-chromosomes, is he not?"

"I think you have asked too many questions for a murder suspect."

John was a man who was rarely intimidated, but he was scared shitless of Aaron Langemann. He did as Aaron asked, asking in Allan. Oddly, despite having nothing but the murder victim and gender in common, they actually spoke to each other for a moment, starting with Allan:

"Oh good, the Hellion finished early. Wanting to get home to your alleged 'Queen of Chaos, do ya?'"

"Mr. Mcninch, to me you look as guilty as Roberto Luongo tanking in the playoffs. AWWWWW, TOO SOON?"

"That is ENOUGH John. Allan would you please come in?" asked Aaron Langemann. With an aura of false pretences more befitting a Peel Regional police officer. And Allan knew it as he sat down, contrary to what the lack of intuition most aspies have. Aaron Langemann wasted no time as Allan sat down:

"So you and your mom wanted to prevent Aaron from putting his mother in a home? How…'noble' of you, Mr. Mcninch."

"Well, you are guilty so far. Lindsay is the reason my mom knew to ask doctors to test for my Asperger's syndrome. I kind of eternally owe Aaron's mom my life as I got the help I needed."

"And killing her eldest child was…what…payback? No good deed goes unpunished?"

"NO! Aaron is a role model for the entire Autistic community. If I killed him, as many as 100 million people would lynch MY ass. And I was in the ground floor conference room with the Norwegian learning to speak her language."

"The staff just LET you into their conference room? I find that hard to believe sir."

"It was not in use…and the lumberjack slipped someone a $50 bill."

"The lumberjack?"

"Yes other-Aaron, the really tall girl from upstate New York who used to date our recently fucking murdered host."

"VICTORIA USED TO DATE AARON?"

"Briefly, years ago. He had such a devastating nervous breakdown that it drove her away and it took years to fix."

"So you, Victoria I am guessing and…who is the Norwegian? Solveig? The one who flew in with Agnes?"

"Yes. Scandinavian languages have always fascinated me, especially if it is in the heavy music Aaron likes. And I think big 'Tori likes learning how to swear in new languages."

"Well, if they vouch for you it will be very easy for you to be innocent as you would need to have stepped out for at least 15 minutes. Would you mind fetching your mom for me?"

"Anything I can do to help"

"Thank you."

Allan exited the room and glanced at his mom, fearing the worst. He could not help it…

"You think that I did it? Your own mother?"

"No mom of course not, but we DO have the same motive."

Aaron Langemann was already getting tired of breaking people up, "Mr. Mcninch, I will be the one to interrogate your mom. Mrs. Stansfield, if you would be so kind…"

Laurie entered the room, leaving behind a group of people she barely knew being watched closely by Holly. All of them waiting for their turn…

"That is odd…you and your son have different last names. Is he adopted?"

"No I married twice, not that that is any business of yours Mr. I struggle for work in my own country and have to find work on the other side of the fucking planet."

"And why are you so defensive Laurie? Something to hide in the form of a knife, gun and sledgehammer in my childhood friend?"

"I am insulted on levels that not even Mrs. Perrott would be able to imagine."

"Fine, so we know more of each other than we probably should as Aaron first met you only a few weeks before he met me in a Grade 2/3 split class. Can we get down to business now?"

"That is the only thing I think agree with you on Mr. Langemann. Now as I am sure you know from my son. We WERE going to confront Aaron about his mom but I was…detained."

"Detained how?"

"I was on the first floor on the south end where they keep the courtesy computers with Internet access as I was trying to find alternative options for Lindsay. Namely, an assistant of sorts Aaron could hire. Lord knows that he and Ida can afford it. Only, there was a bit of a line-up for the 1 computer that works. The girl near the bar at the dinner party was Skyping with her daughter Delaney as it was her first boy-girl dance at school."

"Melinda Hughes was checking on her daughter?"

"Not only that but Mr. Wilkinson was checking to see if his Electrician final grades were posted. He mentioned he was eligible to graduate summa cum laude."

"Good for Rob. A lot of us were sad to see Digital underground fold and being a cab driver must be such a cut-throat business. Very well, I will check your info out. Send in Heather."

Laurie looked at Heather and nodded. Heather and Laurie actually had an occasional run-in with each other back when Aaron C. still had his Facebook. Unlike the previous 2 transitions, this one was quite pleasant and civil:

"Good luck Heather. I think it is safe to say we all know about each other more than we let on."

Heather nodded in agreement and entered the interrogation room. Aaron, to his credit, remained snaky despite his growing exhaustion

"Oh good, another one of the Yfeniverse. Hiding under the guise as a band with fans, but in reality a religious cult that brainwashes people with false guidance. Jeff and Alex must be so proud"

"There IS a reason I defected to the Cult of Aaron years ago. At least Mr. Pirate has the decency NOT to force his ideals on others whether they wish to hear them or not."

"Still…I am sure with the right coercion or motivation you could easily switch back in order to silence the Yfe Outlaw. But throwing Aaron out of the window like Alex did with the microphone stand was not good enough for you, was it? No, you had to mutilate him so badly he will need a closed casket, did you not?"

"They have approached me less and less in the years since my defection. And I am reasonably certain that some others have been treated in a similar manner, Jess the jersey girl comes to mind. That is why my alibi consists of a Cult of Aaron guy and a liaison that has ties to both sides of Aaron Collins' existence."

Aaron L. was momentarily taken aback at the blunt nature of the free spirit of Edinburgh, he decided to switch gears in his inquisition to that of openness as opposed to attack. "I am all ears."

Heather cleared her throat, "Are you aware of the group that which Aaron called…the CMK?"

Aaron Langemann nodded, "Yes I do, well, I know of them in passing. There was so much overlap between a Wicca Coven, Mallrats and people Aaron met through his brief foray into Karaoke that when Aaron begin to…compartmentalize his friends, he decided to unify them. Frankly I did not know he was into diplomacy until that moment in time."

"Well Mr. Aaron who is NOT a pirate, I was with 2 of them. I call my alibi 'The tale of the Vamp, the Newf and the Veggie Haggis chick'"

"I am well aware that your exaggerations of English exceed even my dead friend, KINDLY get the fuck on with it."

"Hmm, As you wish. I was coming back from the Ice Machine that is on the 17th floor when the Vamp…"

"…Vamp?"

"Yes, Vamp. That Guelph lad with the trench coat and Warhammer penchant."

"Mr. James Ford?"

"That would be him. He spotted me in my oversized YFE T-shirt and called me to join a conversation he was having with someone he called 'The Newf'. To clear up what is inevitably your confusion, said Newf introduced himself as Justin Welsh."

"Right…that Tim Horton's friend of his."

"Indeed. Mr. Welsh had his curiosity piqued at the sight of all of the YFE merchandise that people were wearing and decided to ask around as to what YFE was. Because James was pretty much the only friend of his who had any idea, they were discussing the band and their ties to Mr. Pirate outside of their room…well, that and their was some…'carnal' noises coming from inside their room…"

"Carnal noises?"

Heather sighed in exasperation, "When 2 people find each other attractive, influence of alcohol or otherwise…"

"I get it, continue"

"James recognized me to be the former YFE Scottish street team leader and thought I could explain it better. My 'abridged' explanation was nearly 3 hours."

"From when to when?

"9:30pm until after midnight."

Aaron L. raised a hand to his forehead, a face palm if you will, "Out of my fear of this migraine growing, I will excuse you for the next suspect. Thank you for minimizing your…Stittisms."

"My pleasure, who will be next?"

"Get me Jason."

"Ah yes, the Newmarket Metal Machine. Righty-O"

Searching for a discreet way to summon a friend of hers into the interrogation, Heather began humming Iron Maiden's "Number of the Beast" and Jason immediately recognized it as his cue to enter. He stopped as he approached Heather:

"Do not worry, I will not 'Run to the Hills'!"

"I know you will not…but Mr. Langemann's grief is 'Aces High'"

"Understood."

"Please stop this infernal cryptic speech, whether it is in tribute to the dead's 'Aaronics' or not. Mr. Carman, please come in and shut the door behind you." said Aaron in a demanding tone aimed at Heather. Nevertheless, Jason did as asked.

"At last, The Rover. You know I must concede that if there are any society of people who want Aaron dead more than Your Favorite Enemies it would be Canadian scouting."

"Have you forgotten about the KKK who tried to recruit him through his father when he was a child? Or how about the American government for when he renounced his U.S. citizenship instead of allowing himself to be drafted into a war with China that he would not survive? (Hell, it was the most pointless war EVER and I am counting the 2 wars of terror in that assessment) Or how about the Chinese government who hated Aaron for guiding their citizens to computers with uncensored versions of the Internet for various online gaming competitions?"

"Ok, I stand corrected. Still, how many people did he hurt in the name of preserving his psyche? How many imposed the principles of Scouting on him against his will (especially after he came out of the closet)? Or in his psychosis brought in by Heroin addiction? Hell, how many of them turned out to be criminally worse than him?"

"145 by his count, counting the necrophilia. Oh I concede that a great many Aaron I know through scouts want him dead. And as much as I DO sympathize with some of the damaged…I was…fixing something."

"And what would that be?"

"Laura's scooter."

"Interesting…and what was wrong with it?"

"Not much, it just needed a battery change. As I understand, Laura was returning to her room but the battery went dead in the hallway about 10 metres from her room. G-money…"

"Who?"

"That drummer guy who got Aaron to go Straightedge."

"OH! Most of us call him Gregg."

"Whatever. Gregg flagged me down as he could not lift the battery on his own. I came to their aid and Laura invited us back to her room for tea. Longest cup of tea EVER. 2 or 3 hours by my watch"

"Once a boy scout, always a boy scout huh?"

"Yes Sir. We heard gunshots directly above us. But we thought Aaron's room had a movie on. By the way, your instructions to your wife were right. Toronto is ONLY the capital of Ontario and NOT Canada. Has she never been here?"

Aaron laughed, in a mix of genuine humour and frustration, "No, except when I am here on business and I can afford it. Just get me Karl, I might deal with you later."

"Karl?"

"Older gentlemen, leather jacket in the springtime."

"OHHHHH, the Aussie"

"Yes sir."

Jason nervously stepped out and scanned the group, finally finding Karl based on a REALLY beat up Nothing Sacred T-shirt. "Mr. Lean, Aaron L. says you are up."

Karl nodded and slipped him a flash drive, "Great set last night, here is some music from my label."

"Thank you." Jason slipped the gift into a shirt pocket, smiling momentarily that his efforts were appreciated in spite of what happened afterwards

Aaron L.'s agitation reached a new level, "I am not here for everyone else's pleasantries."

Karl entered cautiously, sensing that Aaron may have more grief than Ida.

"I will cut to the chase, Temujin man: How much money would you lose if Aaron screwed up?"

"More than all of it, I would be finished."

"And If Aaron were to be out of the way, would that save your business?"

"Well, technically yes but…"

"But what?"

"I was making 2 different business proposals to 2 different people of Aaron's life for most of the evening. 4 floors under the crime scene I was trying to jump back and forth between the injured fighter and the injured craft lady."

"So that mean…you were with Harley and…who is the craft lady exactly?"

"Kate, part of the Mississauga crew."

"No offence Mr. Lean but I just cannot believe you were with them."

"Oh I was, I was walking laps around my floor as my knee is in rough shape when I recognized Harley as I had recently watched Wrestlemania 34 on pay per view back home in Melbourne. I wanted to see if I could license a song for him as his entrance music was quite bland. He was actually quite intrigued but admitted he would only consider after he was done his prescription pain medication regiment later that month. Kate interjected out of nowhere empathizing with his predicament, relating to her own thanks to a car accident. Then she spotted my wedding ring on my finger and slipped me a business card, simultaneously asking me if I was interested in renewing my vows. It just so happens I was. Were Aaron not murdered, part of our trip was to see Niagara Falls where he would let me scout locations in the area for my wife and I."

"Aaron DID tell me about that a few weeks ago while he was sending us all our invitations. Well Karl, for your sake I hope Kate and Harley do not make it necessary for me to 'find you'"

Karl 's facial expression turned from smile to frown, quite upset, "If you are trying to reference my work in Temujin, that would be 'Find ME'"

"Does it look like I care? FIND ME ELIZABETH."

Karl marched out before physically assaulting Aaron Langemann. While he was pissed off at him, his self-control reminded him that his demeanour only existed because a friend of his for decades was murdered the night before. "Ms. Elizabeth?"

"That would be me."

"Apparently it is now your turn…Robomom."

"Interesting…Cult of Aaron folk know my nickname."

Elizabeth walked in slowly, trying to maintain her elderly charm. But Aaron L. was having none of it, "So you not only had the standard YFE reasons to kill Mr. Collins, you also had religious ones."

"Look I am first to admit that I disapproved with some of Aaron's and Ida's choices, and I even planned to confront them about it. But I would never let it escalate to murder. More people are killed in the name of god than for any other reason. Heck, God even technically has his own SON'S blood on his hands."

"That…is an odd point of view for a church lady."

"Oh I am proud of Christianity, I just also accept that Mankind does not quite have it right. Heck, I once went to Tampa in the name of Jesus Christ Superstar."

"Yes, you do have a lot of experience in the 'South', do you not, Mrs. Bowman?"

Elizabeth knew what part of the recent past Aaron L. was trying to access…and she obliged, "Yes Mr. Langemann, I was interrupted on my way to my room to that cheerful Mississauga girl with the oddly placed lip ring."

"Do you mean Jen Lemons?"

"I do. She was fascinated by my 'accent' and asked what part of the south I am from. I replied Knoxville and she seemed delighted because she had some civil war questions. Particularly, about the confederate army and my views on the whole 'South will rise again' phenomenon. It later became just a general Southern U.S. conversation. We had to keep moving around to each other's rooms to pee, and Mr. Grim came in part way through. We went half the night, at least."

"Yes I interrogated John earlier, thank you Elizabeth, that will be all."

Elizabeth and Aaron Langemann left the room together, Holly noticed Aaron looking exhausted and frustrated at once.

"Want to switch?"

"Yeah, I will guard them for a while. You are up next. Where is Ida though?"

"We are coming, thanks for ignoring the murder victim's mother, ASSHOLE!" Ida and Lindsay then came out of the elevator, with Lindsay obviously needing to limp AND have Ida under 1 of her arms. Laurie looked shocked and was the one to go Lindsay's other arm to help.

"Dear God Lindsay, what happened?"

"She was attacked by our killer, did anyone see anyone leave this group?"

Isabel looked around and said, "Other than Detective Langemann and the ones he questioned, I think we all stepped out at some point"

Lindsay just shouted, "Damn, what will you guys do?"

Holly just blankly stated, "Proceed as planned, I am taking the 2nd shift of interrogations, Ida you will take the third. Damon you are up first for me"

Damon gulped in fear and awkwardness…


End file.
